The Republican journal., 1887-08-25
Correspondence of the Journal.

STABLE BUSINESS. FUNERALS BY HORSE
CAR. rANTEONS AND BURIAL CUSTOMS. A
QUEER 'FALE FOR THE DEAD.
Correspondence of the Journal.
MENICu. July 2oth, 1857. In this country
the liNrry->tablc business is conducted on IL
scale of much greater magniiiccncc than even
at the north. The patrons thereof, being all
of one cas>-thc extremely wealthy, who are
as fond of display rs they are vain and proud
entertain the utmost contempt for cheap
things and insist upon the very finest cInpayes.
Not only must the carriage be upholstered in
silk. satin. or plush, with plenty of plate glass
and gold or silver trimmings, ut the driver
aud iootnan who accompany 1t must he arraycd
in livery more gorgeous than was ever seen on
the other side of the Rio Gran,lc.
OF course these nabobs have carriages of
their own, and lveried servants ut infnitum,
AMI condeSsend 10 hired conveyanccs only
| when away from home, or to meet the cNigen-
cfcs of too much company. 1t is not uncom-
| mon, among the creme de Ia creme of the
| Mexican Capital, for one family to own half
| dozen or more turn-outS, Of various STYLES,
| each with lis especial driver and footman in
distinctive livcrics. These great casos, which
| frequently house Il regular family of forty or
|
| hospitality Oh the >alc generous scale and are
often crowded with ''company." Then the
livery stables literally patronizcd, for in
| this land Of languor nobody walks, you know
but poor folk and plcbian Americans; and the
| favorltc amusement, as well us the most inn
pcratNc social duty, is The sunset drive on the
| boulevard.
Fortunate indeed is The foreigner who finds
| himself the Lonorcu guest of some naughty
| llitlalgo belonging to the first families of this
| M RnpIl,Iir'
| do more for him i'll the line of sumptuous cn-
| tertainmcnt; and though to that end the shekcls
| flow like water, he need feel no compunctiors
| OF conscience, for the eXtravagant habits of
the host and his class in thus dispensing the
''circulating Medium which they possess in
| unsquandcrable quantities, alone keeps the
| majority from actual starvation.
Speaking OF munfccnt hospitality, am re-
| minded of the famous Count de Regla-Senor
| Don Pedro Romero lie Terreros-thc old-time
Mexican bonanza king. Until he happened 20
strike it rich" in >ilvermining, he was plain
| Pcter IerrcroS, with an accent in his speech
| which spoke strongly of the Emerald Isle.
| When by Il fortunate accident he suddenly
| he abandoned his humble shop and launched
| out into eXtravayanceS which furnished his
ne 5hbors with more fables than Croesus of
| old.
| l think it WAS in the year i7b2 that he reached
| the height of his wonderful fortune, through
| the Santa Hri@ada shaft Of the Real del Monte
| mine About this time his son, the last Count,
was rlili>enel; and to titly celebrate the event.
| Don Pedro had the path between his house and
| the church. "a considerable di>tancc). paved
| with bars OF solid silver, over which the party
walked.
| His worthy wife,-Whom rlmor said had
er>t cen seen contcntcdly having the family
| lincE--now waNel so arstocratc that the earth
| could scarcely hold her. When first blo>somed
| into The Countess de TcrreroS. she proceeded
| to quarrel with and cut the Nicc-ul,ccn. who
| as representative direct Of Spanish royalty
| had long received the abicc homage of every
| thing Mexican. Later, desiring to paratc her
lli.hiics> TOR, perhaps to humble her pride
| >iii far;lEr).-thc countess sent her a costly
! olive branch in the shape of Il satin slipper.
i entirely covered with the most magnificent
| diamonds, its toe stuffed iii! Of pearls and
| emeral,l>--a neat little baubie. worth Il million
or -. with which TO amu>e summers morn
| nr!
| That same year the Count de Regla invited
the King of Spain to visit his Mexican possess
sions. aS his (the Count'>) guest and assured
| hil.i, hy way OF indurement, that the feet of
| his Majesty and all his tran and even the
hoof> Of his horses, should lrra, upon nothing
! more base than inSot- of solid silver all the
| way from Vera Cruz barbor TO the City of
| MeNi'o lahoui 2GA mile>l; that his royal feet
| Shnu',i E;tt touch the ground during all his
| >tAt III tie New World. hut always precious
metal; that every rHom in which hc lodged
should he rooted and walled with silver. and
| every dish aiid u;en>iI u,c. bv himself and
| suite should b. of purc>t gpII.
Whether the King looked upon this muniii-
| cent offer as mere bra."a,locio, do not know:
It ANY rate he did not come, but soon put the
| dc Rcga wealth to proof by requesting the
loan of Il few million prS"s which, it is need
| less to add. We're never returned. The I'M
ti;!nntcd Count followed up this @ft hv causing
I" "''' htlllt. at his own expense, in Havana, two
Ships Of the line. Of largest tonnayc--alI of
| richest mahogany and cedar which he pre-
>rnte, to the Sovereign.
But to return to our subject. Besides the
llNery->taht-, which are confined to the larry
| est cities where families of great wealth reside
there are in every Mexican town many
hacks. carriages. coupr~, victoriaS. bnrol,rhc>,
etc. wl!:''h are really owned and run hv the
Government. and whose price is fixed by law.
i" secure them yon 10 not send to Il stable
for nobody seems to know where they are
kept-hut look for them in the streets In the
Capital alone there are 80 of these public con-
NcNanrcs. ranking officially as those of the
first. second, third and fourth class. Their
'.rlaSs" is distinguished by small tin signs, in
the form OF Il tiag. stuck up in front-tho>c of
the first class painted green, the second blue.
third red and fourth white Their legalizcd
tariff is respectively $500 $1.5O, -5c. and SOC.
per hour-cNcept before o'clock A. NJ. and
after 10 p. NJ. and on Sunday and all feast
days. WHEN the price is doubled; and as feStos
are of every day occurrence. one may safely
calculate upon what to pay. Most of them are
dilapi'latea old rattc-trap>, in imminent peril
of goin" to pieces on these wretched pave
mentS. like the Deacon's one-horSe rllSe, and
as rule there is little difference in them cx-
cept in the color of the flag. With customary
pride, Americans u>,ially insist upon the most
eNpenSve-fooli>hy, however, for the flag is
Immediately hauled down as soon as the vehicle
is engaged and nobody can guess what YOU pay
for it.
Besides the roachnan each carriage furnishes
Il footnnan without additional charge-though
the proper thing is to give the unbarg:inel for
appenda-c shilling. The footman is called
nozo, and acts rs sort of apprentice or private
secretary to the Cochero, or driver. On enter
ing vehicle, the passenger who does not wish
to be swindled should request of the driver his
botrto, or ticket, upon which is printed the
number of the carriage and its lawful tariff.
Then the lnozo ru>es off to the nearest clock,
| and brings you card upon which the hour is
written. At this point You will do well to con-
suit Your own watch and calculate accor,linglv
to avoid tie dispute which otherwise is sure to
occur if YOU insist upon your rights at the
journeys end.
The mozo also jumps Oft and opens the door
for you. makes any inquiries you may desire,
| and takes in your card when you are calling;
| and when the ride is ended, he again produces
| the card upon which the hour is written, and
| you pay from the time of starting. After all
| these precautions, shall any differences of
| opinion arise between yourself and the cOcherO,
| they may be settled at the Office of Public Car
rnSeS, (A'mlnlstraclan Principal de CocheO lie
| Stio), located in the municipal palace of every
| town. The cocheros-heedess of the fact that
| you may he getting more ride than your mon
ey's worth and bumps without number-,irive
| pel nell over the worst pavcments in the most
| reckless manner; and more than once in my
experience have coach and horses parted com
| pany, leaving me sitting forornly in the street
| in the condition of the girl whom the poet left
| behind him.
| Another curious feature of Mexican life is
| the manner of conducting funerals. The rich
| go to the cemeteries in carriages, as elsewhere;
the middle classes go on the street cars, coffin
| and all; while the poor walk and carry their
| dead upon their shoulders. When horse cars
We're first introduced into the Mexican Capital,
| the manager Of the line conceived the idea Of
buying and retiring all the hearses. Then he
| put funeral cars Oh that branch running to the
| cemetcry-and the result was that everybody
wishing to bury in cOnsecrated ground was ut
| his mercy. 1t soon became the fashion to visit
| the panteOn in the horse cars and all except
| those two extreme cIas>cS-thc very richest
| and the very poorest-now avail themselves of
| the privilege.
| One frequently encounters a funeral process
| sion of this kind, Ell route to the grave. the
car ,lraped in black if the corpse be that of n
| man, or in white if it be a woman or child
| the coffin exposed to the full glare of the sun
| and the gaze of the popuace, the horses, with
| their nodding plumes. driven by Il spruce
young man in conventional uniform, and the
car containing the "mo,lrncrs'' wiIinw railv